A Hazardous Game
by DrHeartStealer
Summary: A former colleague of the leading marine scientist, Vegapunk, recently fled her post among the navy, and took some very important government information with her- information the government would quite literally kill for. With marines hot on her trail, will embarking on the life of piracy be enough to protect her from the organisation she once loyally served? Sort of Law/OC


Well, this was certainly no good. North eyed over the bounty sheet that she had plucked down from the street wall. It had been posted among many other criminal's bounty posters for all to see, and the familiar face on this one just happened to catch her eye as she passed by. The woman on the sheet North held grinned half heartedly out of the frame. Her long hair was swept up into a professional bun, and her marine uniform was hidden discreetly underneath a white lab coat. To see someone dressed in marine garb on a wanted poster was certainly unusual, but not necessarily unheard of. With that in mind, the government had certainly wasted no time issuing a bounty for North. They hadn't even bothered to take a picture for her bounty sheet- they had just used her lab identification photo.

She had been anticipating a warrant being issued for her arrest, but not this soon. North played with the freshly cropped tips of hair that poked out from beneath her hat, studying the bounty sheet over long and hard before she abruptly crumpled the paper up in her fist. A light rain had started to drizzle down from the sky, and North chucked the wadded up paper off to the side. At least now that she was aware she had a bounty circulating she knew to be on the look out for marine and bounty hunters who hoped to turn her in for the amount of cash that had been tacked to her name. Now she knew for sure the government hadn't taken her fleeing her post lightly... although she doubted that was the sole reason they had placed a sum of money on her head. She had no way of knowing just how long she was going to have to stay on the run. Hopefully knowing she had a bounty would give her a little bit of an upper hand for however long it took for her to figure out how to slip off of the government's radar.

North flipped her hood up over her head to help keep the rain out of her eyes as she started down the street. Now to attend to immediate matters. When she had fled, she had left everything but a few necessities behind. It would be a lot easier to avoid bounty hunters and government officials if she wasn't freezing out in the rain.

"I win again!" North cheered, a confident smile tugging at her lips as she splayed her cards across the table to reveal a winning hand. The burly man sitting in the chair opposite from her banged his fist heavily on the tabletop before he tossed his cards down in defeat. He promptly stood up from the table and pushed his way through the crowd that had gathered, and over to the bar. North's impressive winning streak at poker had drawn quite a bit of attention. Plenty of bar goers had come over to watch the girl who won round after round without fail, although they seemed to be getting reluctant as a whole to bet money the more games she won.

North maintained the grin on her face as she raked her winnings to her side of the table. Leaning back in her seat, she began flicking through the berries to see just how much she had earned thus far, which was quite a considerable amount. Playing cards to get some quick cash was probably the best idea North had come up with in a while. With the amount of bet money she had accumulated by now, she could easily afford a room at an inn for the night, a few changes in clothes, and even pay to eat a nice meal after she had bled this bar out of all the berries she thought she could get. North was just barely aware as a person pushed through the throng of spectators that had gathered to watch the girl win. The male took a seat in the chair across from North, calmly stating, "I'd like to play next."

The room seemed to immediately fall hush as this new challenger stepped forth. A few of the spectators even sidled away, seemingly to distance themselves from the man who thought he could take on the girl with the implausible winning streak. North finished counting out her cash before she glanced up to see who her next opponent would be. Her eyes instantly met with a gold pair staring back at her from across the table. The new challenger smirked lazily at North as she studied his appearance, from the dark lines that rimmed his eyes, down to the capital letters that spelled 'DEATH' inked in black across his knuckles, like some sort of ominous premonition. North's brow furrowed as she also noticed her new opponent was flanked by an entourage of men. They wore cream coloured boiler suits that bore the same mark that was printed on the front of the man's yellow and black hoodie, obviously associating them with the tattooed male. Although perhaps the most curious of all was the bear in the bright orange suit that stood along with them. North's eyes reeled back to the man in the chair across from her, who hadn't dropped his smug look in the slightest. Just who was this strange guy...? North couldn't confidently answer that question, but so long as he was willing to bet, that was all that mattered to her.

"Alright. I'll shuffle," North said. Her opponent followed suit as North tossed a few berries in the center of the table for her part of the bet. North picked up the deck and shuffled it quickly before she passed five cards apiece to both herself and the tattooed man. Picking up her hand of cards, she gave them a quick look over before flicking her eyes over to the male across the table to gauge his reaction. He still wore the self assured smirk he had been sporting since he sat down, but that didn't unnerve North in the slightest.

The time came for cards to be exposed, and both North and her tattooed opponent showed their cards face up on the table. A self-satisfied grin crossed North's lips as she saw her hand had come out victorious for yet another round. Any semblance of confidence was doused from her features though as she noticed the man's hand was moving for the deck of cards, and North felt a little a little apprehensive all of the sudden. For the life of her, she couldn't tell what he was thinking, and that scared her in the slightest.

"Looks like I lost. Too bad. Up for another round?" The man asked, his smirk increasing so that it revealed his teeth, his eyes locked unfaltering on the woman across the table. He was already shuffling the cards in his tanned hands, almost tauntingly slow as he waited for an answer.

"Of course," North ran her tongue across her lips, which had suddenly become very dry. The cards were shuffled and dealt, and the bets were set out in the center of the table. North eyed over her hand of cards with a sense of apprehension, easing up once she realised her hand wasn't half bad. It didn't seem like a terrible set of cards to have, but North had done most of the dealing up until now. If this mysterious stranger won this round, she would most likely cut her losses and take the winnings she had already accumulated. She couldn't risk betting away all the money she planned to use to keep herself afloat until the next time she found means of getting by. After this money ran out, she had no idea where her next meal or means of shelter would be coming from, so she needed to keep as much of it as she could. Lost in her own reverie about just how down and out she was, North failed to realise a good portion of the spectators were staring expectantly, waiting for her to expose her cards.

"Don't look so tense. I'm an honest man." The stranger's smooth voice jerked North from her thoughts, and her eyes trailed up to meet the shocking gold of her opponent's. He was reclined back in his chair like he owned the whole bar, one arm looped up around the back of the chair and the other resting against the table with his cards fanned out between his fingertips. His sitting position certainly did nothing for his already lacking posture, which North had noticed was terrible as soon as he had sit down in front of her. Seriously. Didn't he hurt his back keeping his shoulders hunched like that?

"You seem like a skilled player. Why so unsure all of the sudden?" The man prodded, splaying his cards out onto the table for all to see. North nearly scoffed as she saw the hand he had played, restraining the urge to slap her own cards down on the table and shout out that she had won.

"I was apprehensive because I thought you were a cheater." North declared, releasing a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding as she calmly exposed her hand as well. The crowd watching the game seemed to let out a collective sigh due to the built up apprehension. For a second, it seemed like North's winning streak had almost met it's end, but perhaps all the odds still swayed in her favour. Gathering up the cards, the man offered the deck back to North, which she gratefully took. She felt much better with the cards in her own hands, but something about the grin the tattooed man wore while he stared at her made North feel uneasy still yet.

"Look at that. You win again. Seems like luck is really on your side," His voice was almost sarcastic as he commended her, although his eyes appeared to darken as he added, "Why don't we up the wager for this next game?"

"I'm very lucky when it comes to card games. Doubly so if money is involved." North responded hesitantly. "What's this wager you have in mind?"

"If you lose this round, you come join my crew."

The way he said it was so blasé, like he was simply commenting on the weather. North found her jaw going slack at his sudden offer, and the spectators erupted into a mass of confused mutters at the man's deal as well. They all seemed to be wondering just what did one of the most notorious pirates in the sea want with a girl who beat him at cards? No one was more so taken aback than North. She wanted to ask why he would ever suggest something like that when all they had done together was play two rounds of cards, but her vocal chords failed her due to just how absurd his wager sounded. It seemed downright asinine even in clear context. He had said it plain as day- if you lose, you join my crew... Even though some of the bar goers surely recognised him, North still had no clue just who this mysterious tattooed man was. Just going by her own intuition, this guy didn't look like some fisherman or some other ambiguous sailor. So did that mean he was... A pirate? The pieces slowly fell into place as North pondered over his words repeatedly. The man continued to stare patiently at her from across the table as he waited for her answer.

A smile found its way onto North's face as she started in on shuffling the cards, giving a firm nod to the man's odd bet. "Okay. But If I win, I want whatever valuables you have in your possession. And that tacky hat of yours."

"Deal."

This guy had lost the last two rounds, and now he was betting her service to his crew? He must have run out of money. At least, that's what North figured was up, because asking a strange girl in a bar to join your crew was a ludicrous thing to even consider. North was confident she'd win this match like she had all the others. And the best part was she didn't even have to bet any of her money for this round.

Even his own men seemed to think his offer was as ridiculous as everyone else did. One man in a teal and red casquette hat leaned down to the seated male's level, his expression obviously showing his distress as he questioned, "Captain, do you really think it's smart to-"

"Don't worry, Shachi. I won't lose this round." His captain answered with a dismissive wave of his hand. North arched a single eyebrow at his apparent confidence, but she said nothing as she passed out the cards for the round that would ultimately decide her fate. Eyeing her cards over, North flicked her eyes over to the other player to see if she could tell just what he was thinking. For the first time since she had seen him, he didn't wear a smirk, and his brows seemed to furrow in concentration as he looked over his own cards. The crowd gathered around the table fell eerily quiet for bar standards as they waited to see the outcome of this strange match. North didn't realise she was staring at her opponent until he flicked his eyes up to meet hers, the most vicious grin spreading across his features as he suddenly sat up straight in his seat.

"On three?" The man asked, but North didn't even allow him to start counting before she slapped her cards down on the table. The cards showed a straight flush, with all five numbers on the cards in perfect order. It was a promising hand indeed. There were very few plays of cards that could beat her particular hand out.

"Hm... Too bad." The man's smirk turned into a frown momentarily as he peeked across the table at her cards. Laying his cards face up on the tabletop to reveal his own hand, suddenly the crowd around the table erupted wildly and North went completely rigid as she saw the cards he had played. He had the exact same play- a straight flush, only... his cards were a number higher in sequence, effectively voiding her hand. Her winning streak had just come to its bitter end, and now it seemed North was suddenly part of a crew she knew nothing about, to do god knows what for them. The tattooed man smiled smugly at North from across the table, and the watchers continued to go wild over this victory that seemed so unlikely.

"You cheated. There's no way you would have known you'd win otherwise," North accused seriously.

"Ah, but haven't you been cheating this entire time?" The man boldly reached out as he eased himself up from the table, jerking North's right wrist out. Cards of all different suits tumbled out of the girl's sleeve and onto the table top, revealing she hadn't likely won a single game fair and square at all. Suddenly, the crowd that had been celebrating her loss went quiet as they turned their collective gaze back to the woman in question.

A burning blush crept across North's cheeks and she suddenly became very sheepish from all of the attention. Playing cards to get a bit of quick cash had seemed like a good idea, but then again, North hadn't quite expected a strange man to come along and expose the secret of her winning streak in front of everyone she had just swindled.

"Should I call you 'captain'?" North said suddenly, feigning a submissive smile as she snapped her eyes over to the tattooed man. Her new captain only flashed her a smile in return.

The night air was cool, and the rain that drizzled earlier in the evening had cleared out by now. North situated her gun holster a little more comfortably across her chest as she trailed down the street with the men who wore the matching boiler suits. Needless to say, plenty of the bar goers were none too happy with her for screwing them out of so much money, but somehow she and her new crew had managed to break out of the angered mass reasonably unscathed. And she still had no idea what half of their names even were.

"It should be nice to have a girl on the crew!" The man in the teal and red hat cooed. He sidled up close to the newest recruit of the crew, giving North a broad grin, which she returned half heartedly out of politeness. Just judging by the nods and the chorus of approval that went up all around at that comment, it would seem like plenty of the crew was happy she happened to be a female. As far as North knew, the entire crew was nothing but men, but that didn't bother her in the slightest. She was pretty used to working in male dominated environments, and this crew would probably become just another name on her resume that fell into that category.

"Would have been better if she was a girl bear," A voice said behind her. The notion was immediately met with several crew mates scolding whomever had said it to shut up, to which the voice swiftly apologised. North whipped around to see who exactly would make such an odd comment, and her eyes landed on the bear clad in the orange jumpsuit that she had seen in the bar, walking a few paces behind her. While she had seen quite a few strange things whilst she worked in a lab, for some reason she hadn't been expecting this bear to _talk._

"Did you say that?" She questioned, her eyes widening just as fraction at the revelation that _this crew had a talking bear amongst their ranks._

Instead of giving her a straight answer to her inquiry, the bear slumped it's shoulders as it proved her question to be true by saying, "I'm sorry."

"Wait, no. I didn't say it was bad—" North started to console, but a man in a hat that read 'penguin' and his arms crossed tightly over his chest suddenly cut in.

"Don't worry about him. That's just how Bepo is..."

North still felt a bit bad Bepo seemed to take her comment so hard, but she didn't question him any further. Directing her gaze back ahead, her eyes grazed across the bright yellow pullover of the man who had inducted her to this motley bunch for whatever reason that had consumed him. North had to admit, out of all of the men, including the bipedal, talking bear, she was most curious about her new captain. He was walking quietly slightly apart from the group, allowing her the perfect opportunity to confront him while she had the chance. Who knew if she would ever get one again. Picking up her pace slightly, North trotted forward until she matched his walking speed.

"I don't think I caught your name," North prompted, glancing up at the taller male as they now walked side by side down the path.

Just barely directing his gold eyes down at the woman, the tanned male answered, "Trafalgar Law."

North blinked in surprise. Trafalgar Law, as in the crazy doctor who was known throughout the seas for his brutality? It was a name she had heard, but she had never actually seen his face before now. North suddenly found her mouth going very dry, but for the sake of looking calm she swallowed up what little moisture she could manage to muster up. Had she really just signed up to join a Supernova crew? Apparently so. That aspect could be a little counter productive to her reasoning for willingly going with this bunch, but yet again, perhaps it could help her? It seemed she would just have to wait and find out if that was true or not.

"So, tell me, Law... How did you cheat back there?" North asked, recovering stunningly quick from the surprise she had just joined one of the most dangerous crews in the current age.

"I didn't cheat." Law answered. He kept his eyes directed forward as he walked, but she could see the faintest smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. North's brow furrowed as she processed this response, one which she hadn't been expecting in the slightest. Wait, so... Did Law mean he had left the decision for her to join his crew completely up to luck? With the cards he played and how sure he seemed, that almost sounded like a cop out, but North didn't prod him on the matter.

"Well, at least tell me why you chose me of all people... Did you acquire all of your crew through bets in bars?" North asked teasingly.

Law gave a bit of a snort at her comment, but showed no other signs of outward amusement. A brief moment of silence fell between the two, and North could just barely see the docks coming into view at the point, meaning the crew's ship probably wasn't far away now. North flicked her dark eyes up as she heard the man's voice cut through the silence. Immediately, a frigid chill rippled down her spine and North nearly came to a complete stop in the middle of the street as his words resounded like a death knell in her ears.

"I know _exactly_ who you are, Avangarde North. And I chose you because you'd be far too useful to be allowed to slip away."


End file.
